What it is: An infusion of the flowers of one of several types of chrysanthemums (such as Chrysanthemum morifolium or C. indicum), chrysanthemum tea is a refreshing beverage popular in China and elsewhere in Asia. Faintly honeyed on its own, it’s often brewed with rock sugar for additional sweetness. Chinese herbalists claim the tea has […]

Traditional mooncakes and other authentic fare mark the Mid-Autumn Festival menu at Shanghai Terrace on the Magnificent Mile. Legend has it that the cakes commemorate the 14th-century Chinese rebellion against Mongol oppression. The rebels communicated with their compatriots by hiding the slips of paper in smuggled cakes. From Sept. 6 through 12, Chef Ivan Yuen […]

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, perhaps the single most influential company in Chicago restaurant history, celebrates its 40th anniversary on Friday, June 10, at the place that started it all, R.J. Grunts in Lincoln Park. Burgers will be $1.50 in tribute to the original 1971 price, and a DJ will spin ’70s tunes all day and […]

Noted Chinese-cooking expert Ken Hom returns to Chicago for a Chicago Foodways Roundtable conversation with local chef and food writer Louisa Chu at 7 p.m. Friday, June 3, at the WoodMode Auditorium at Kendall College on Goose Island. Hom has written 30 cookbooks and hosted five BBC and an award-winning Korean television series. He started […]

Cherishing your mother needn’t break the budget. Just about every restaurant in town is offering brunch or dinner specials for Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8, but these sweeten the pot with free items for Mom.

“Yes, Valentine’s Day is this month, and we will be celebrating with all the city’s lovebirds, but why pin the ‘amour’ to only one day?” asks Chef Carol Wallack of Sola> in North Center and we agree. We got 150 press releases about Valentine’s Day, and you can bet that just about every eatery in […]